Volunteers offer blast victims help with renovating homes

LOWELL -- Countertops may be out of reach. The bottoms of door frames could turn into speed bumps, and staircases, at least temporarily, are likely out of the question.

More than a month after the Boston Marathon bombings, victims of the attacks will face a new set of challenges as they return from hospitals and adjust to navigating their homes as amputees or with other injuries.

Some area residents are looking to ease the transition, offering their services to make victims' homes wheelchair-accessible or provide other necessary upgrades.

"It's such an awful tragedy, unexpected," said Mike Allard, construction manager at Lowell Five bank. "Every little bit helps. I figured I could donate labor to make their lives as normal as possible."

Under Allard's coordination, crews from the Lowell-based Allard Building and Remodeling will offer renovations to victims' families, like construction of wheelchair ramps, widening of door frames -- "anything they need to upgrade now that they're changing lifestyles," Allard said.

Allard said he hasn't yet connected with anyone injured in the blast, but is open to helping whoever contacts him.

The idea, he said, came about after he was approached by bank marketing representative Jenna Guilbeault, who knew he donates contracting services each year to Girls Inc.'s Christmas auction.

"She asked me if I ever thought about donating to the victims," Allard said. "Yeah, I have, but I didn't know where to go or how to approach it.

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Dracut resident Chris Murphy also found himself wanting to reach out, but wasn't quite sure how to do so.

"I immediately thought these people are going to need somebody to do renovations," Murphy said. "I don't want them digging into their pockets or refinancing their houses for it. They've suffered enough. They don't need to suffer more when they come home and they can't reach things or they can't get into a room."

After the bombing, Murphy posted on different Facebook pages that he was trying to arrange a group offering renovations and other services the victims might need. Based on the way responses flooded in, he's confident he could gather a crew of around 50 volunteers for a day of work.

"I've never organized anything," said Murphy, who works in maintenance at a medical company in Windham, N.H. "I'm usually just the guy who shows up to help."

He said he was "blown away with the support that people offered," including flooring work, plumbing, landscaping services and nurses willing to help provide home care.

Like Allard, Murphy said it's now just a matter of finding a way to connect with the victims to offer help.

"Even if they don't know what they need, they're going to need something," Murphy said. "I just need to know how to make the next step to help them. I can make a couple phone calls and have it ready for whenever it needs to be ready."

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